Any and all volunteers needed for this Saturday, May 12, for a potato planting day at the Farm!

The ground will have dried out enough to use the transplanter and culitvator to cover them. This way we can have some people planting by hand and some with the cultivator!

It’s supposed to be a great weather day – 70 degrees, no rain.

Bring sunscreen, water bottles, layers of clothing, and a bag lunch.

Any amount of help would be useful, and so very much appreciated — a couple hours or all day, whatever you can manage.

Thanks for contributing to the community – more help is less work, and I can tell you from experience, it really is a lot of fun.

Email Amy directly if you can help.

Alambria Newsletter #4

Okay folks we have some delicious greens, once again this week, if any of you would like any. We are harvesting Thursday for Circa and Copper Turret restaurants as well as the MSC dining hall and we still have extra for you! We are selling them for $5 per 8oz(1/2lb bag) but can also bag in 1lb or 2lb bags for those of you who would like larger orders! These greens are our all-gourmet lettuce mix, tender and delicious. They will not be washed so please wash before consuming. I am harvesting Thursday morning and all orders can be picked up at our farm store after noon(12pm) on Thursday or all day Friday. Please email orders to womandance@frontiernet.net!

Thanks!

Amy

Okay folks! We have some scrumptous tender Alambria Springs Farm all-gourmet salad greens ready for all who want them.

Price is $5 for an 8oz (1/2 lb) bag! Please place all orders by emailing Amy at womandance@frontiernet.net. Let her know how much you want.

They will be cut fresh early morning on FRIDAY, bagged, but not washed, and will be available in our Farm Store cooler after 12 noon on Friday, April 20, for pick up anytime. Payment is on the honor system, just put your money in the lock box on the table inside the Farm Store.

Come and get em’ !!! No limits on amounts yet. First come, first served.

Enjoy!
Amy and Brian

Hey folks!

Just wanted to share the good news! Just received word that we received the USDA small farmers hoop house grant for this year. What this means is that we will be installing another 30×100 foot large hoop house, thanks to this grant, for growing winter greens and summer tomatoes! Can we say YES, we will take it!

If we didn’t know better we would think that spring is really here! The garlic is emerging, the birds are singing, our wild geese are back, the temperatures are 70, our bee’s are bringing in pollen, and everywhere we look it seems that spring has indeed arrived!

We have been spreading amendments and waiting for the soil to dry enough to begin tilling. We hope that by next week we will begin working our soil. We planted 1000 tomato plants last week and are anxiously awaiting their emergence from their seed cells! Thought I might harness up our big mare Lady today and take her for a drive around the fields. We really need to get her into shape for the season as we hope to use her and Pat more in the fields this year.

Please remember we can use lots of helping hands during planting time for those who signed up for work shares this year and for those who have offered to volunteer! We’ll be in touch soon with more details and definite dates!

Enjoy the beauty and energy of spring!

Cheers!

Alambria

Ten Ways Monsanto and Big Ag Are Trying to Kill You – And the Planet

Energy-intensive industrial farming practices that rely on toxic chemicals and genetically engineered crops are not just undermining public health, they’re destroying the planet.

Here’s how:

#1 Generating Massive Greenhouse Gas Pollution (CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide) and Global Warming, While Promoting False Solutions Such as Industrial Biofuels, So-Called Drought-Resistant Crops, and Genetically Engineered Trees

#2 Polluting the Environment and the Soil-Food Web with Pesticides, Chemical Fertilizers, and Persistent Toxins, Including Dioxin

#3 Draining and Polluting Wetlands and Aquifers, Turning Farmland into Desert

#4 Poisoning Wells and Municipal Drinking Water, Lakes, and Rivers

#5 Chopping Down the Rainforests for Monoculture GMO Crops, Biofuels and Cattle Grazing

#6 Increasing the Cost of Food, While Reducing Nutrition and Biodiversity

#7 Spawning Pesticide-Resistant Superbugs and Weeds, and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

#8 Generating New and More Virulent Plant, Animal and Human Diseases

#9 Utilizing Wasteful Fossil Fuel-Intensive Practices and Encouraging the Expansion of Natural Gas Fracking and Tar Sands Extraction (Which Destroy Forests, Aquifers, and Farmland)

#10 Stealing Money From the 99% to Give Huge Subsidies to the 1% Wealthiest, Most Chemical and Energy-Intensive Farms and Food Producers

It’s not enough to stop eating genetically engineered food. If we want a liveable planet we’ve got to boycott all factory farmed food and make the Great Transition from energy and chemical-intensive agriculture to a relocalized and organic system of food and farming.
The World According to Monsanto is a recipe for disaster. Monsanto and Big Ag contaminate every link in the food chain, threatening the very foundation of life: living nutrient-rich soil, clean water, resilient crops, healthy animals, stable climates, and diverse food sources. The good news is that agro-ecological and organic methods can reverse this threat and sustain food production for future generations, but we don’t have much time to turn things around.

The Wholeshare Buyers Club is off to a great start – 21 people signed up so far.  On January 14, Amy sent all of you an email invitation to join.  Please click on the link in that email and spend some time looking at the site.   Once you have joined, you may also send an invitation through the website to invite others to join if you wish.  There is no cost to join.  If you have questions, feel free to email or call me.  I would be willing to give a demonstration on how    to use the website at my house in Sherburne if you think that would be helpful.

A pickup policy was posted under the INFO tab on the Wholeshare website.  Our order deadline is Monday, February 27 at noon, with delivery on Friday, March 2, so you still have plenty of time to join and become familiar with the ordering process, as well as join open splits and finalize your order if you’ve already joined.  The pickup date for this order is Saturday, March 3.

We want to encourage people who come to pick up their Wholeshare orders to recycle and reuse — consider saving large cottage cheese and yogurt containers, coffee cans, and other such containers to use for products purchased in bulk, such as rice, flour, dry beans, etc.

Amy and Brian are in the process of enclosing the now open-air space adjacent to the Farm Store so it can be utilized as  space for Wholeshare orders when they’re ready for pickup.  They have the siding and a door, but need a window or two.  Does anyone have some spare windows sitting in a garage or basement they might consider donating?

We’re also looking for grain scoops.  We’re investigating where we might buy them, but if anyone has any they’re not using, and could consider donating, that would be wonderful!

The newly formed Core Group will meet for the first time on Sunday, February 5.  Communications will follow.

We are all looking forward to the new year, the new growing season, and the exciting new changes at Alambria.  Your involvement is appreciated … valuable … and critical.  Suggestions, comments, feedback, and ideas are always welcome.

Thanks for all you do to support local agriculture — “We must be the change we want to see in the world!”

Chris Hoffman

Hi All!

If you have not done so already PLEASE go to our Alambria Springs Farm facebook page and “like” us!!

Please help us spread the word!

Thank you very much!!

Alambira

Winter has finally arrived…enjoy the beauty of the snow covered landscape!

Our 2o12 seeds arrived in the mail yesterday. Wait until you see what we have in store for you this season. We won’t ruin all of the surprise but new varieties of eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and beans(to name a few) promise to keep it exciting and keep your taste buds bursting with delight and longing for more!! A great big “Thank you” to all shareholders that sent in payments in a timely manner and to the large amount of you that paid in full! We have cut off the sign up for renewing members and will only be taking a small amount of new members for 2012.

Thanks for the positive response in regards to the “Wholeshare” buying club this year.  Our meeting is definitely on for Jan 25th 6pm at the farm.  Please bring some sort of finger food snack to share as the idea of a dish and dinner won’t work with the amount of members attending and our modest sized home! Please RSVP if you have not yet so we can get an adequate count.

Thanks so much!

Amy and Brian